Data Visualization: Mapping a Taco's Origins

A group of architecture students in the URBANlab program of The California College of the Arts put together a map that illustrates the origins of the ingredients in a taco from Juan's Taco Truck in San Francisco—chosen because it was the most economical option and every ingredient had been purchased from either Costco or Restaurant Depot. The class found that "the ingredients had traveled a total of 64,000 miles, or just over two and a half times the circumference of the earth." Some ingredients were produced locally, while others, like the rice from Thailand, came from much farther away. Read more about the class's findings at GOOD. [via @homesicktexan]